|
|
Conference USA has been featured in dozens of realignment rumors this summer, yet nothing has come to fruition. First was a rumor that Memphis and/or UCF and/or East Carolina were off to the Big East and it was a done deal. Nothing there. Then, with the MWC/WAC fallout was the rumor that Houston was gone to the Mountain West- nothing so far. There’s word that Louisiana Tech wants to join the league, but no indication that the league has any need for them. So, as of now, Conference USA looks exactly like it has since 2005.
Last year’s conference champs, East Carolina, have a new coach and lost a lot of their team over the offseason and look to be a dark horse at best in 2010. Meanwhile Houston, West division champs a year ago, is fully loaded and looks like they could make a splash nationally, and they assume the mantle of conference favorites. There will be no shortage of teams looking to take the Cougars down a notch, with UCF, Southern Miss, and SMU looking like the prime candidates to take their shot.
For all we know, this could be the last Western Athletic Conference preview ever. Probably not, but they’re on very shaky ground right now. As it stands, they plan to keep Fresno State and Nevada around through the 2011 season, meaning that next year they should operate as an 8 team conference with Boise’s departure to the Mountain West happening next summer.
Once Fresno & Nevada are gone, the WAC is down to six. Louisiana Tech is supposedly investigating/evaluating/begging a spot in C-USA or the Sun Belt, which would put them a lot closer to their competition, Utah State apparently wants into the MWC, and Hawaii has rumbled about going independent. The transition time from FCS up to FBS is at least two years, so even if they protect the six they have and add two or three from below, 2012 could be a limbo year. The NCAA may grant a waiver and allow them to compete with just six during this process, but there’s a lot still up in the air.
BYU’s decision on their independence is due tomorrow, which could have a lot to do with the WAC’s future stability.
But enough about all that, we have 2010 to think about. Obviously storyline 1A is Boise State. #5 in the Coaches Poll (the one that matters for the BCS), one of the dominant national preseason stories has been whether they can, or should, get a spot in the title game if they run the table. While the question of ‘should’ can be endlessly debated, our coverage at the site will mostly focus on the ‘can,’ assuming they beat Virginia Tech. But not now, this is a conference preview.
If we acknowledge that Boise State should be favored to win the WAC comfortably, the real race is for second in the league. Nevada lines up as the favorite for that role, as well as the WAC team with the best chance to disrupt Boise’s unbeaten streak. Fresno State and Idaho should figure into the race for second as well.
The team previews are done, so we’re zooming out a level to look at each conference as a whole, and we’re doing it fast- football is very nearly upon us.
The Mid-American Conference had what might have been a bit of a breakout year in 2009. Both division races went down to the last two weeks, with the East not being decided until the MAC’s now-traditional Thanksgiving Friday season finales. But the football was exciting and competitive all through the season, the league showed up for two of the best bowl games of the year, and Central Michigan ended the year 23 & 24 in the polls.
For 2010, we have two clear favorites and a few question marks right behind them about who will emerge- and someone always does- to push the favorites right to the end of the season. In the West, Northern Illinois is loaded and ready to chase down their first conference championship since 1983. In the East, the resurgent Temple team looks to avenge their final-Friday loss to Ohio and take their place in the title game.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
We made it. The 54th season preview. Football is mere days away. We’ll do some conference previewing in the next couple days, the first non-BCS Top 25, and real actual game previews by Thursday. Joy. Now, about Buffalo.
Despite a quality road win to open the season out at UTEP, Buffalo had a hard time getting things on track after that, dropping their next four games to get behind the eight ball early. They won their next two, then lost three MAC games by 3, 1, and 3 again. The grabbed two more wins at the end of the year to finish out a respectable 5-7, not the numbers they were looking for after a conference championship in 2008.
2010 looks to be tumultuous for the Bulls. Head coach Turner Gill is gone, now in charge at Kansas, and with a new coach will also come a new quarterback and lead rusher. The good news is that 8 players are back from the #3 total defense in the MAC, so if the new offense can score points, the team will be competitive.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Kent State came painfully close to breaking through the six win barrier last year, which they’ve done only twice in the last two decades. They started conference play well, beat eventual division winner Ohio, but lost to their biggest rival, Akron, who they should have wiped off the field. Even so, they controlled their own destiny when they faced Temple, but couldn’t get it done there and ended the year with a 6-9 loss to Buffalo.
Despite the fizzle at the end of the year, there’s a lot to be optimistic about for the Golden Flashes- their quarterback joins 8 other offensive starters, and only four defensive players have been lost. The best in the East will have to come through their stadium, and the coaching staff is stable.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Hawaii started the year off well, dispatching their season opening 1-AA opponent then beating Washington State in Seattle (we didn’t know yet just how bad the Cougars would be), but then racked up six straight losses, pinning their backs to the wall if they wanted to get to a bowl game. To make it, they had to win their last five games, and they nearly did. They beat Navy at home to set up a showdown with Wisconsin to get to 7-6, but they proved no match for the Badgers, falling 51-10 to close the season at 6-7.
Hawaii loses a lot of players this year, including seven on the offensive side, but junior QB Bryant Moniz is expected to lead the offense after starting eight of the last nine games a year ago. The defense has more returning talent, with seven players back, but they’re going to have to be better than the team that gave up 30+ on seven occasions last year.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Idaho was one of a few teams I “discovered” in the first year of this site, going from barely aware of their presence to openly rooting for them. The timing was nice, since they won more games in 2009 than they had in the previous three seasons, logging their first winning season since 1999. They got there by winning six of their first seven, then hanging on as the best of the WAC stormed through. The faced Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl, practically a home game despite technically being on their rivals’ field. Head coach Robb Akey and his mustache launched into the national consciousness in that game, where he elected to try a two point conversion with four seconds on the clock and grabbed the win, rather than settling for overtime.
Expectations will be high for the Vandals for the first time in a long time this year. QB Nathan Enderle is back for his senior season, along with most of the skill position players. The defense only loses two players, but they’ll need more than experience- the defense has to find a way to stop somebody this year- only two teams allowed more points than Idaho did in 2009 (ok, the bowl game skews that number, but Idaho was still 114th in scoring defense).
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
After a 9-4 2008 campaign, Western Michigan was expected to be among the best in the MAC last year, but ultimately they weren’t at the level of Northern Illinois and Central Michigan. The losses piled up at the end of the year, leaving the Broncos at 5-7 and home for the postseason.
I feel like I’ve written this 30 times in the last three weeks, but the Broncos are back with a lot of returning players, but lose talented QB Tim Hiller and 1100 yard rusher Brandon West. If they can find replacements there, then the other 8 players who do return on offense (and seven on defense) could be enough to keep WMU in the hunt this year.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
Troy University comes to 2010 after four consecutive seasons winning or sharing the Sun Belt Conference championship. Last year, they rebounded from early losses to Bowling Green and the Gators to win seven in a row and nine of their last ten regular season games, sweeping the Sun Belt and setting up a conference-champions showdown against Central Michigan. CMU got the better of the Trojans by 3 points in double overtime, in a game that was much more exciting than some BCS Championship drudgery that happened the next night.
2010 presents a lot of obstacles for the Trojans- holes at quarterback and a defense decimated by graduations (only three starters return, compared with six on the offense) will mean a young, inexperienced team all the way around. Troy has dealt with this well in the past, but the Sun Belt is going to be a difficult league to win this year, especially with such a young team.
Read Post
Football on the Fringe Season Previews were ranked, then delivered in random order.
At last we complete the top 10 on the pre-pre-season rankings with Texas Christian University. As a person reading this site, you already know that TCU ran through the 2009 regular season undefeated, only to get turned back in the Fiesta Bowl by Boise State.
Like Boise State, TCU is back with their coach, quarterback, and a bunch of the starters from last year’s team. Gone is star DE Jerry Hughes from the defense, but seven of his starting teammates are back on the defense, and eight other starters join QB Andy Dalton on his side. TCU’s schedule is far from easy, but if they can continue the high level of play from last year, they should have their place in the national title picture.
Read Post
|
|